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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Leave No Doubt Leaders focus on people, not power, as
they build and develop their teams. In this period of rapid and disruptive
change to the makeup of the employment base, leaders must focus on empathy and
trust as a means of building genuine “equity”. Leaders who empower others consider
empathy an essential competency to develop high-performance teams. In fact, great
leaders leave no doubt about the
value of their family, friends, colleagues and customers. They invest in
relationships and strive to build high levels of relationship equity through
their actions.

A
true leader will recognize that they must
build their teams through the development of strong relationships, rather
than asserting or trying to demand “power”
or “title”. The old method of the “My way or the highway” style of
management simply doesn't work in business today. As baby boomers retire and
more and more millennials begin their careers, the necessity of building
relationship equity has grown exponentially. The newer, younger work force thrives on more of a relationship-based
leadership style and approach.

This
new generation values a sense of community and a work environment where they
feel valued and cared for by their leaders. In order to create maximum
productivity today, a leader must demonstrate a high level of care towards all
of his or her team members. Do your people know beyond a shadow of doubt that
you genuinely value and trust their input, contributions, and capacity to
impact your organization?

Do
you view the development of trust and relationship equity as mission critical
items of your personal leadership philosophy? Are you committed to investing
the time required to truly get to know your people on a deeper level? When you
know your people and what they value, you have placed yourself in a perfect
position to be able to inspire and lead. The key is you must also be vulnerable
enough to allow them to get to know you in return.

My
past interactions and experiences with leaders from around the globe have led
me to formulate the belief that most leaders don't truly know their people.

Here
were my five questions for leaders:

1.
Do you know your team member’s most important individual dreams?

2.
Do you know your team member’s top three personal goals?

3.
Do you know what one individual has been the most positive center of influence
in your team member’s life?

4.
Do you know your team member’s viewpoint of his or her greatest strength?

5.
Do you know your team member’s personal core values?

Knowing
the answers to these questions is critical in helping you build relationship
equity and trust, which will also help you maximize your leadership ability
with your team members. In order to build real relationship equity, you must
display morally courageous leadership principles. It takes courage to establish
trust and allow your people to move forward without doubt and fear. The morally
courageous leader knows that his or her team members will make mistakes as they
strive to perform. When you leave no
doubt that you will be there to support and encourage them, even through
their mistakes, it sets them free to succeed.

A
leader must invest the time required to truly know his or her team members. A
truism of life is that people will work harder to reach their own goals and
dreams than they will for anything else. When you care enough to find out what
matters most to your team members, only then can you inspire their greatest
efforts and motivate them to achieve higher levels of performance.

About the Author: Paul Cummings’ latest book is called It
All Matters. Paul Cummings has been educating business professionals for
over thirty-five years and has developed revolutionary techniques in sales,
customer service, and leadership development. Enthusiastic. Driven. Intense.
Filled with the desire to not only teach but to also make a lasting
difference, Paul is well-known for teaching his students and clients with
unrivaled zeal and unmatched passion as he enthusiastically lives out his
business motto, changing lives through dynamic instruction. A thirteen-time
winner of the Telly Award and five-time winner of the Communicator Award,
Paul’s ultimate desire is to tangibly and exponentially improve both personal
and professional performance. Paul’s personal mission is to always leave it
better than he found it because he truly understands and firmly believes
that It All
Matters.